New Alachua County Public Schools guidelines limit in-district transfers for underperforming teachers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) — More than three dozen teachers in Alachua County are not being renewed for next school year due to either a certification or performance issue. A change in school district guidelines is impacting where they work next.

In previous years, teachers who were not being renewed by a specific school would still be allowed to teach at another school in the district, but now this is changing.

Thirty-eight teachers in Alachua County are facing non-renewal due to either a certification or performance issue.

The Human Resources Department will ask some teachers to go somewhere else to build their skills for at least a year, including out of the district. This will be on a case-by-case basis.

School Board member Leanetta McNealy said performance-wise, someone could be struggling with certain areas like content and discipline.

“I think it’s very important and administrators who are in charge of their schools that they have constant observation,” McNealy said.

“I don’t want anyone to think that a person who may have gotten an unsatisfactory as far as performance, they are just left out by themselves. That does not occur. They’re certainly given the support and the resources to assist them in getting back on track,” she said.

The district has not released an official number of how many of those 38 teachers are not being renewed because of their performance.

Parent Michael Hill said as of next school year, he’ll have a kid in each level of schooling. He said there needs to be more transparency when it comes to what teachers are facing a non-renewal, especially due to performance.

“It’s very frustrating because we as parents want to know that our kids are still getting a top-notch education, and some schools of course, we know that teachers are very slim to none, and we still want our kids to get the top level of education that needs to be provided,” Hill said.

The district’s Human Resources Department will work with each teacher individually to see what their specific next steps are.

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